Abbreviated perfume & fragrance reviews from one man's perspective

Rose of No Man’s Land by Byredo

WHAT I SMELL: Rose of a No Man’s Land opens with a sweet and citrus candied rose that sparkles with a refreshing and dewy and slightly “bathtastic” glow. The perfume goes on clean, fresh and pretty without being too girly as there is a heftiness to the rose that is topped by a lightly jammy raspberry. After a few minutes, the sparkling fruitened rose is met with a warm and radiant amber with just a hint of light spice. The perfume remains clean and fresh, but much more tame as it feels as if it begs to exist quietly rather than be pushed to the forefront in a noticeable way. After another 10 minutes, a layer of suede pulls itself over the composition. I really like the perfume at this point as the combination of rose and leather pulls the fragrance in and out of the masculine and feminine. After a few more minutes, the suede begins to fade and the rose begins to grow and project. Rose of a No Man’s Land is a comfort scent that wraps itself around the wearer with a clean, warm easy to wear rose.

Rose of No Man’s Land is a tribute to the nurses (often referred to by soldiers as “Rose of No-Man’s Land”) who saved thousands of lives on the front lines of WWI, their story is one of selflessness and compassion.

BOTTOM LINE: The opening of the perfume is divine…very fresh and full of life and the perfume matures beautifully and is lovely. Actually, what I like about it best is that it doesn’t scream to be noticed but instead, quietly does it’s job in a very unassuming way.

I plan to try this perfume because in my head it somehow opposes to the idea of Lutens’ La Fille de Berlin with which I have “philosophical differences.” In general, Byredo’s perfumes usually smell nice to me but not nice enough for their prices. But who knows, one day there might be a perfume with which I’ll go beyond the decant.